EU - robs nations of their rights.?

Question

I personally feel that the EU is a despotism run by self serving bereuxcrats who have no interest in Democracy.
The structure of the EU today is thus :
A nation elects a govt, that govt elect their MEP (of which the people have no say) who then goes to Brussels and approve legislation that their nation will never hear about untill they are forsed to adhere to it...
Now this doesn't seem altogether fair. Mostly when foreign nations who have no knowladge of another nation have such power to decide how their live.

IF and this is a SUPER IF!!! the EU is ever going to work, it is going to have to restructure its political protocol and allow for a more democratic process.
...but that is really a longshot.

opinions?

Answer 1

I do believe that unelected bureaucrats are in control of the EU, but surely MEP's are elected by the national electorate?

Nevertheless, we do not get to hear much about what these elected MEP's are doing, and they seem to join forces with other political groupings within the EU, which we also do not get to hear much about.

Now I am sure that a lot of this information is not necessarily kept secret for clandestine reasons, but simply because the Media do not consider it worth reporting; unless it is associated with a sex scandal. However, it is still not a happy situation to have such major discussions and transactions and attitudes being kept secret for whatever reason, as if we do not know what is happening in the discussion chambers, our votes cannot be effectively used, our protests cannot be made, and the unelected bureaucrats stay in control.

Additionally, I am very concerned about our national politicians reporting that a situation has developed over which they had no control, because they were outvoted, when, in fact, they are using this as a cover for their own desired ends.

I would say that it is better that we keep our "leaders" back home, where we can keep an eye on them and monitor them more closely.

It is not a question of democracy, as that is only the means by which we elect our leaders, no more and no less; rather we need more openness so that we can all get to particiapte in the debate in some form or another. Possibly this would be adequately achieved, if we could vote down proposed legislation. Then the Parliament could debate, but would not be able to force through, legislation approved by the majority groupings that are pursuing their own agendas.

Maybe that might also be adopted in the Westminster parliament, so we could regain control of our own country!

Answer 2

1. the EP is directly elected by European Citizens
2. those same citizens elect the national Governments whose Ministers sit in the EU council
3. the only unelected body is, then, the European Commission. The European Commission can propose or execute EU laws, but those laws are agreed by the EP and the Council of Ministers. And I suggest the 27 member states are all democracies, so the Government ministers somehow represent the nations where they have been elected.
4. Could you, or would you, frankly, be actively involved in law-making about the specifics of drinking water, or fluorine-gas emissions in cars? because the bulk of EU legislation deals with issues like that- that noboby but a few expert
can follow even in domestic debates.
5. the EU works ( or doesn't work) like this because the national parliaments, the national governments and so forth don't want it to work better or differently. the EU can only have the powers that its member states give it. this is why BTW big states weight more than small one and the organism does not reflect directly political preferences of the citizens.

Answer 3

One out of the three components of the EU legislature is directly elected by the people (European Parliament), exactly as one of the three components of our national legilsature is directly elected by our people (Commons).

The three components of the EU legislature are the Commission, which proposes laws (EU laws take various forms); the Council of Ministers, which writes the laws; and the European Parliament, which, since the Treaties of Maastricht and Amasterdam, through the co-decision procedure, decides in partnership with the Council whether the legislation should be enacted (it cannot be enacted without the approval of the European Parliament, which, by the way, is the biggest democratically elected parliament in the world).

In the UK, laws are proposed and written by the Commons (usually an idividual MP or a sub-committee), amended and approved the the unelected Lords, then ultimitely approved by the unelected monarch (who has the right to refuse, but would never refuse because that would undermine the position of an undemocratic head of state). So the EU legislature and the UK Parliament have this in common: 1/3 of them are directly elected and play an operative role in legislation.

Your mistake about the fact that the European Parliament is elected shows how very little you actually know about the European Union. This, I believe, is a big problem in England: people know nothing about the EU, so believe everything the Mail and the Sun tell them! I only know about it because I have studied law, and the European legislation process is something that we looked at in detail.

The EU has done an enormous amount of good for its members, but this is ignored while the occasional seemingly stupid bit of legislation (more cocoa in chocolate... actually, not a bad idea!) is flagged up and ridiculed endlessly. Most EU law aims to look after the well being if the individual above that of big business (introduction of minimum wage, working time directive, various health and safety legislation overlooked by national governments). It is a major source of legislation against discrimination: for example, the Equal Treatment Directive 1976 (EU law) allowed women to work until they were 65 if they wanted to without being forced into retirement, but the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (UK law) failed to achieve that equality, which proved necessary for an NHS worker who was forced to retire at 62 (Marshall v Southampton Health Authority 1976).

I suggest you and all Euro-haters learn about the EU before you criticise it. As for its democracy status, perhaps we ought to democratically elect more components of our own legislature before we complain about the EU?

Answer 4

I don't know if yuo live in the European Union, if you do, wait: time will show people the errors and flaws of the system, then get organized. Every political institution that has fallen, began in that way, unsatisfying it's citizens and the only alternatives it will have will be two: cease to exist or modify its structure.

Answer 5

EU is supposed to serve the interests of member countries. However, the influential members are using the organization to exploit mendicant countries.

Answer 6

My view of it is it is a great big civil service without a great deal of democracy but it has no head

With a head it could be taken over and used for power and personal gain but I dont beleive with the EU this could be done

Yes we have a great giant, but one no particular party or specific political aim could ever master and control

(I hope)

Answer 7

I agree an MEP is actually powerless and can only rejuect the budget

Answer 8

No you idiot. The MEPs are democratically voted by the people, the problem is with the appointment of commissioners (the executive body).

Answer 9

The EU is Big Brother from 1984. Just watch as they take away your rights and freedoms with more and more restrictive laws. Most of the cr@p from Brussels is not even looked at by the MEP's or MP's it is just rubber stamped into our statute books.

The only solution would have been to do something useful with the two planes on the 11th of September would have been to fly them into the Brussels headquarters of the EU.

Answer 10

Yeah European Nations have such a good record at taking care of things themselves. Two World Wars, Stalin, Hitler, Napolean. Now it's just one big Socialist Welfare State.